Chapter 11! Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 11 – Cloud's Team: North Corel At Last!
The rest of the trip was boring, to say the least. Clover slept, while Sam and Alex looked out the windows at the scenery. Vince, however, was deep in thought. 'How in the hell am I going to explain this to Cloud?' Vince thought, 'What is he going to say when I tell him about all this? How did they even beat Sephiroth? He is the strongest person in the world, and yet three newcomers from another dimension sent him running home to Jenova!' As they passed over a small creek, Alex asked, "Hey! Wouldn't the engine get flooded from going through all this water? Wouldn't we be trapped here from water-logging?" Vince laughed silently, then looked at her through the rear-view mirror, and said, "No, no. The engines were specially remodelled by Cid so that if the buggy's engine runs through water, the water will be siphoned out by a small pipe, and then ejected through a small hole under the exhaust pipe. Then, no matter how much water we trek through, nothing will ever wreck this buggy. It's also explode-proof from the outside, bullet-proof outside, and sword-proof on both sides, because Cloud often battles these goons named Kadaj and Loz, who seems to enjoy using small blade-type weapons. Kadaj wields an extremely small sword, while Loz, his brother, uses a spring-loaded tazer that can release tens of thousands of volts of electric charge in a press of a button. Kadaj also has another younger brother, Yazoo, who fights using a small pistol. If luck will have it, you may not have to fight them." "Hey, Vince," Sam asked, just in time for Clover to wake up, "Who are the Turks? Can you tell us what we can expect of them?" Vince, now sounding quite confident of himself, said, "Sure, although should luck have it, you won't have to fight them either. Their leader, Reno, is a cocky, fire-headed young man who prefers close-range combat above long-range, like most of the people you'll meet. He fights his battles with his fists, his intense agility, and his ever-present nightstick, which, like Loz's tazer, can unleash a seemingly unlimited amount of electricity into an opponent's body. Also, using his Turk Light skill, he can quickly and easily confuse anyone who isn't equipped with a ribbon, which cancels out negative status ailments, such as poison and sleep when in battle. It also prevents you from being shrunk or turned into a frog. Then, you have Rude. He is much more physically built than Reno, and like Reno prefers close range combat over guns. He uses fists and magic, which for reasons only known to him, counts as 'Close-range combat'. Then you have Elena, the ONLY female member of the Turks. She uses only long-range type weapons, and prefers using grenades and such instead of her fists. They are not to be taken lightly, not even when you do that… strange… transformation thing you did. How did you do that, anyway? One minute, Sephiroth lands a massive hit on me, and the next, Alex turns into a giant thunder-woman. Then, Sam follows and becomes water-girl, and Clover finishes the pattern by turning into fire-lady. How did you work that? And what are those 'UPGRADES' Gerry was talking about?" "Well, Vince," Clover said, "Our upgrades were supposed to be bodily. Our X-Powder communicators are supposed to cover our bodies in high-tech armour and weapons, but instead, they brought out… those three… I wonder what Gerry would say if he found out…" Clover then proceeded to pull out her communicator, only to have Sam put it away. "No, Clover. I don't think Gerry needs to know everything that happens while we're here. We'll tell him when we complete our objectives," Sam said quietly. As the buggy continued moving forward, Sam and Alex were the ones to fall victim to the powerful urge of sleep, while Clover took her turn to take in the scenery. "That there is the forest where we first got Yuffie to join our team," Vince said, pointing to a large forest that, Clover saw, was guarded by a massive army of frogs. "With those frogs, there is no six step program for defeating you. They either jab you with their little claws, or they sing a song that instantly puts you to sleep, while changing you into a frog yourself." Clover reeled at the thought, and instead, continued watching the scenery pass by. "Vince, where are we going? Are we getting there soon? All I see is desert." "Actually, that desert is where our base is located. When the Shin-Ra crushed the Sector 7 slums, We have been situated in Barret's hometown of North Corel, a place that used to be a coal-mining town until the Shin-Ra forced the construction of a Mako reactor there, then proceeded to burn down the town while Barret was gone," Vince said, "That is why Barret has such a deep-seated hatred of the Shin-Ra. In his vision, they are like a plague of locusts, while we, NEO AVALANCHE are the exterminators sent in to eradicate them. So for, we are doing pretty well. Cloud's main priority has been finding Sephiroth, though he won't be too happy to hear what happened. Ah, we're here, ladies! Wake up!" he called, waking Sam and Alex, who opened their eyes just in time to see a large throng of people waiting for the car. "Why are all these people waiting for you, Vince?" Clover asked, "Did you do something?" "Actually, with them," Vince responded quietly, it's about what I can do for them. They are always asking me to do favours for them. Just because I can fly, lm always asked to go and rescue kittens stuck in trees, save grannies that have fallen in a well, things like that. I don't exactly mind doing it, and Cloud says it's good for the image and reputation of the group if all our members help people. So, I continue to do it. Though, right now, I have to get you three to Cloud, so get ready to be mobbed." As they opened the doors and stepped out, the mass of people ran to the small buggy, and from all directions came requests and pleadings for help. "Everyone, I will help you as soon as I get these three ladies to Cloud for introductions and interviews." With that, Vince shrouded the three and flew off to Cloud's tent. Sliding the material open, he called, "CLOUD! Guess who's back! And guess who I brought with me!" Cloud, sitting at a makeshift desk, looked up from a file, and seeing Vince, said, "AH, Vince. I suspect you have the three girls with you? Am I right?" "You would be right, CLOUD!" Clover shouted, as she, Sam and Clover bolted from under Vince's cloak and straight at Cloud. Instantly throwing their arms around him, their closed eyes were oblivious to the fact that their combined grip was suffocating, not just startling, their new leader! "Um… Girls, a… little… breathing room… would be… great right… now I… can't … breathe…" He gasped in between words, attempting to get enough in his system to hold his breath, but couldn't keep it in long enough. After what seemed like an eternity, the girls let go of a now completely blue faced Cloud, who instantly drew in enough breath to form a small tornado in his lungs. Exhaling slowly, he spoke. "Well, it's nice to see tat you're all so enthusiastic, but next time, ease up on the grip if you don't mind. I almost suffocated through that massive group hug. So, if you three will stay outside while Vince and I discuss things related to our task at hand. I will inform you fully when I'm done with him, OK?" "All right! Let's wait outside, ok, girls?" said the husky voice of Barret, who had just popped up behind them. Shrieking slightly, Clover jumped in place, while Sam and Alex pulled their respective weapons on him. "Whoa, there, little ladies! It's me, Barret! I spoke to ya on the PHS system, remember?" Alex thought carefully, and then said, "OH YEAH! You were the guy who whined about not getting ammo money like a little kid whining about not getting an allowance." Barret, his left eye now twitching, walked out of the tent, and the second he was out of eye sight, a blast shook the earth.
Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I finally got through this damnable writers block! There are references to other games that Cloud had playable roles in, such as Kingdom Hearts and FF Tactics, in which Part two will take place. I hope that Tamara Jones is ready for a double dose of past events! Oopsie, Spoiler! Chapter 12 will be up soon! R&R and flames are welcome.